A Lawrence school district advisory council is taking on a growing problem — childhood obesity.

Everything from lunch menus to the amount of time devoted to recess and gym class will be examined by the School Health Advisory Council, said Katy Buck, a council member and the district’s facilitator of school health services.

“This is the whole gamut of school health issues,” she said.

The council includes health professionals from outside the district and will convene in January to begin the evaluation. Council members will forward a list of recommendations to the school board, she said.

Bob Day, director of health, planning and finance in Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ office, said he applauded the council’s willingness to study this important public health issue.

He said obesity among children was a “huge epidemic” and the state’s schools could be an effective vehicle for encouraging students to improve their health through exercise and good dining choices.

“You have kids now who are eating less-healthy foods, exercising less and getting heavier,” Day said.

The U.S. Surgeon General reports that 13 percent of children ages 6 to 11 and 14 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 19 in the United States were overweight in 1999. This prevalence had nearly tripled for adolescents in the past two decades.

In some Lawrence schools, Buck said, recess has been curtailed to boost the amount of time students spend in the classroom. The schools are swapping recess for extra reading and math assignments in an effort to meet requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind act.

Junk food is one of the leading causes of obesity for American youths. An advisory council for the Lawrence school district will study the issue -- in areas ranging from lunch offerings to physical education -- and make recommendations to the school board.

Cafeteria choices of some students in the Lawrence schools would never be included in a video on healthy dining, Buck said.

“Students have cookies and pop for lunch at the junior highs,” she said. “It’s really bad.”

Buck said the district’s lunch menus met federal guidelines, but that didn’t guarantee each student ate a healthy meal in a school cafeteria.

“They make a lot of money off Little Debbie snacks” and other treats that are available for purchase, she said. “Is that a responsible thing?”

Day said the state of Kansas already paid a steep price for health problems related to diet and exercise. For example, he said, more than $200 million of the state’s Medicaid spending can be tied to diabetes and congestive heart failure.

Health consequences of another generation of children living sedentary lives will be significant, Day said.

Buck said the Lawrence school board’s debate about the sale of soft drinks in junior high schools and high schools would be part of the council’s study.

The board is urging Coca-Cola, Pepsi and 7Up to submit proposals for a long-term, exclusive contract with the district. Such a contract could bring in $1 million to $3 million to the district over its life, which could stretch 10 years. The board won’t make a decision until next year on a contract that would start in July.

Day said he would prefer that schools not sell soft drinks to students.

“I don’t speak for the governor, but I think we have to make a decision. What is for sale? Are you willing to participate in the selling of your children’s health? Is that what the schools really ought to be doing?”

American Obesity Assn. ChildObesity.com